Celebrated on the third Sunday in June, Father’s Day honours fatherhood and paternal bonds that shape individuals and societies. This year, let’s also address the elephant in the room: the steady decline in male fertility.
By Jisha Krishnan
As Bala read his semen analysis report, he was overwhelmed by a sense of ‘unmanliness’. Terms like sperm count, motility and morphology were baffling. The only thing the 33-year-old marketing professional felt certain about, back then, was that he couldn’t become a father. Ever.
“2020 was a terrible year! I struggled with my infertility diagnosis, while trying to cope with the pandemic,” sighs Bala, as he goes on to recount failed treatments. One question kept troubling him: “I’m a physically fit person. I workout at the gym five days a week, practise yoga every day, eat reasonable healthy food…How can I be infertile?”
In 2017, a meta-analysis based on 185 studies on 43,000 men worldwide found that the sperm counts in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand had dropped by almost 60 percent between 1973 and 2011. The researchers had termed the decline in male fertility as a “canary in the coal mine”.
“It’s a global existential crisis,” Shanna H. Swan had famously said. She was among the researchers associated with the publication of the meta-analysis and also author of the much-discussed book called Count Down. Based on the current curve, the professor of environmental medicine and public health had warned that sperm counts could be down to zero by 2045.
The lull before the storm
Bala and his wife were college sweethearts, who got married a little over five years ago. They were in no hurry to have kids; they wanted to travel the world and explore different professional opportunities before starting a family.
“Over the 15 years of our relationship, we had discussed our views on the importance of having children and we somehow assumed that it was just a matter of time before we had ours. We never really thought that there could be a medical problem. It was only when we failed to conceive after several months of trying that we finally decided to see a doctor in December 2019,” says Bala.
The first three months of 2020 were spent in giving lab samples, collecting test reports, consulting with gynaecologists, and getting second opinions. “Finally, we got to know that my low sperm count was the culprit. Everything else was fine,” affirms the reluctant pessimist.
Oligospermia (low sperm count) or azoospermia (absence of sperm) is more common than most people think. “The average sperm count in men as well as sperm quality have declined alarmingly on a global scale. 1 out of 20 men, at present, are facing different fertility challenges,” says Dr Shweta Goswami, Associate Director – Fertility, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Noida.
Decoding the causes
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines infertility as “a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse”. Traditionally considered to be a “women’s health issue”, studies show that male infertility contributes to at least 50 per cent of global cases of infertility.
Male infertility is most commonly caused by problems in the ejection of semen, absence or low levels of sperm, or abnormal shape (morphology) and movement (motility) of the sperm. “Studies suggest that two-thirds of the males with fertility issues have found to have low sperm count or impaired sperm quality. Rest can be attributed to problems in the male reproductive tract, genetic conditions, hormonal imbalance and other factors,” notes Dr Goswami.
The other factors include age (like female fertility, male fertility also declines with age), smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, stress and quite a few lifestyle choices. Researchers contend that exposure to radiations from cell phones, laptops and microwave ovens can also adversely affect sperm count, morphology and motility.
In her book, Count Down, Swan attributes the drop in sperm counts to the growing prevalence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) – chemicals that mimic, block, or interfere with hormones in the body’s endocrine system. They can be found in plastic water bottles, food wraps, perfumes, shampoos and everyday products we use. Phthalates, the chemicals found in plastics, are known to lower the body’s testosterone levels.
Though the exact cause of a man’s infertility may be hard to determine, there’s no denying that male infertility is on an alarming rise.
Happily ever after?
Bala and his wife are expecting their baby in less than two months. “It has been a roller-coaster ride! But we were fortunate to get an early diagnosis, good treatment, and sensible medical advice,” says the soon-to-be-dad, who wishes to break the deafening silence around male infertility.
“While my wife could open up to her female friends and relatives, I had no option but to bottle up my feelings and pretend like everything was all right. Men just don’t talk about such things. It’s unmanly! Isn’t it high time we change this unhealthy mentality?” he asks.
Dr Goswami agrees. “It is important to understand that infertility is not a gender-specific problem and can affect both females as well as males,” she maintains. The fact of the matter is that it is not always easy to become a father. Globally, millions of couples are struggling to conceive.
This Father’s Day, let’s address the elephant in the room.
The post Becoming a father is tough appeared first on Health Analytics Asia.
